Successfully navigating the blank and double gameweeks is key to a winning Fantasy Premier League (FPL) season &#8211; and with our guide, you can do just that.
Regularly updated, our Blank and Double Gameweek Guide contains all the information you need to know as things develop this season.
As well as this guide, Hub members get access to the most effective and accurate FPL planning tool on the planet, built by highly respected fixture forecasting guru and all-time number one FPL manager <a href="https://twitter.com/BenCrellin">Ben Crellin</a>.
You can <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/ben-crellins-fpl-transfer-planning-sheet">download Ben&#8217;s FPL transfer planning sheet</a> &#8211; and our flagship <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/ai-team-rating">My Team tool</a> is a brilliant way to map out your plans and get them rated by our artificial intelligence once the game is launched.
Last updated: 28/08/25
<h3>🤖 Hub AI quick summary 🤖</h3>
Simplicity and speed are among Fantasy Football Hub&#8217;s core values, so many of our articles this season will come with a quick Hub AI summary for those who want the lowdown &#8211; fast.
Read the full article below for the detailed picture 👇
<ul>
<li>🫸The key blank and double gameweeks are expected towards the end of the season</li>
<li>🆕New potential blank and double in first half of the season has emerged</li>
<li>⛈️More could be created if fixtures are postponed &#8211; winter weather sometimes causes issues for example</li>
<li>
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</li>
</ul>
<h2>When are the FPL blank and double gameweeks in 2025/26?</h2>
According to Ben, the following gameweeks are likely to be blank or double gameweeks in 2025/26. Further potential blanks and doubles are outlined in italics and discussed in more detail below:
<ul>
<li>Double Gameweek 16</li>
<li>Blank Gameweek 17</li>
<li>Blank Gameweek 31 (Carabao Cup final)</li>
<li>Double Gameweek 33</li>
<li>Blank Gameweek 34 (FA Cup semi-finals)</li>
<li>Double Gameweek 36</li>
</ul>
Blank gameweeks occur when some teams don&#8217;t have a fixture, while double gameweeks see sides play more than once.
Typically these gameweeks are caused by cup matches like the FA Cup semi-finals and Carabao Cup final clashing with planned league games.
Experienced FPL managers often use chips, such as the <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/what-is-the-fantasy-premier-league-triple-captain-and-when-to-use-it">Triple Captain</a> and <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/what-is-the-free-hit-chip-in-fpl-and-how-can-we-use-it">Free Hit</a>, in these weeks in order to maximise their effectiveness.
<div id="attachment_73206" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-73206" class="size-large wp-image-73206" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Fixtures-Ben-2025-26-1024x327.png" alt="Ben Crellin's fixture calendar" width="1024" height="327" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Fixtures-Ben-2025-26-1024x327.png 1024w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Fixtures-Ben-2025-26-300x96.png 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Fixtures-Ben-2025-26-768x245.png 768w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Fixtures-Ben-2025-26-1536x491.png 1536w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Fixtures-Ben-2025-26-1080x345.png 1080w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Fixtures-Ben-2025-26.png 1957w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Ben Crellin&#8217;s fixture calendar</div>
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<h3>Possible Double Gameweek 16/Blank Gameweek 17</h3>
<ul>
<li>Teams to be confirmed</li>
</ul>
At the start of the season, there were no potential blank or double gameweeks in the first half of the season.
But a scenario has developed in which this is a possibility, as Ben highlights below:
<blockquote>&#8220;Crystal Palace reaching the Carabao Cup quarter-finals (round 5) would cause a blank around Gameweek 17.
&#8220;This is because the Carabao Cup quarter-finals are in the same midweek as Matchday 6 of the Europa Conference League.
&#8220;Palace&#8217;s cup quarter-final would need to be played at some point before the scheduled semi-final midweek and therefore their quarter-final would need to be rescheduled to a Premier League weekend or midweek, causing a postponement for them and their cup opponent.
&#8220;Palace&#8217;s potential postponement wouldn&#8217;t be able to be rescheduled in the first half of the season but their cup opponent&#8217;s fixture could be rescheduled to the midweek in Gameweek 16 &#8211; and there&#8217;d be more reason to do this if the postponement involves a team who are in Europe because there&#8217;d be less chance it could be rescheduled later in the season.&#8221;</blockquote>
Palace are two wins away from reaching the Carabao Cup quarter-final, with Milwall (H) next up.
<div id="attachment_73207" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-73207" class="size-full wp-image-73207" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Blank-and-double-gameweek.jpg" alt="Crystal Palace won the FA Cup last season. Picture by Getty Images" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Blank-and-double-gameweek.jpg 1024w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Blank-and-double-gameweek-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Blank-and-double-gameweek-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Crystal Palace won the FA Cup last season. Picture by Getty Images</div>
<h2>Are there fewer blank and double gameweeks this season?</h2>
There used to be plenty of blanks and doubles later in the season as cup competitions began to clash with league fixtures.
But a change to the FA Cup schedule last season led to fewer opportunities for FPL managers.
This was because the cup quarter-finals were given their own space on the calendar, meaning this stage of the competition didn&#8217;t cause any disruption to the league.
Once again, this will be the case in 2025/26 &#8211; but much like last season, it only takes a postponement or two for bad weather or another unforeseen incident to create more blanks and doubles.
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Newcastle won the Carabao Cup last season. Picture by Getty Images

FPL Blank and Double Gameweek Guide 2025/26: New potential blank and doubles emerge

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